The new 12-sided £1 coin will enter circulation on 28 March, the government has said.

Article: Scientists at the Cambridge-based British Antarctic Survey (BAS) have been shipping back samples from the Antarctic Peninsula for 35 years, but with limited space in their own chilled laboratories the best option for halting the melting process is a cold storage warehouse.
Here, samples share space with groceries destined for supermarket freezers.
The warehouse on an industrial estate in Bourne, Lincolnshire, marks the end of a journey that begins about 15,000km (9,300 miles) away.
BAS scientists drill up to 1,000m (3,300ft) deep into the Antarctic ice, recovering cores - cylindrical samples of ice - some of which fell as snow more than 150,000 years ago.
These are packed in polythene tubes in insulated boxes, and stored in underground caverns cut into the ice before being flown to Rothera or Halley, two BAS Antarctic research stations accessible by ship.
Here they are kept in refrigerated containers at about -22C (-7.5F).
They are sent back to the UK in April on the final ship to sail before the winter weather sets in and makes access impossible.
The RRS Ernest Shackleton brings them back, usually docking at Immingham, in North East Lincolnshire.
The refrigerated container then travels by lorry to the cold storage warehouse in Bourne.
About 550 boxes the size of tea chests, containing about 4,000m (13,000ft) of ice cores, are currently stored with frozen food there.
Samples are regularly sent from there to BAS's Cambridge laboratories.
"Each one metre-long, 10cm diameter core is measured electronically to count the number of annual layers in the ice to date it, and also to see how much snow falls each year," said BAS's ice-coring chemist Dr Robert Mulvaney.
"This helps us understand how the climate has been changing over the whole region in the last 100 years."
The cores, collected mainly from the Antarctic Peninsula, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and in Dronning Maud Land, can help show scientists "how the local climate responds to the global change in climate", Dr Mulvaney said.
"We are recording the...

Summary: How does Antarctic ice destined for vital climate research end up in a massive fridge in Lincolnshire - next to bags of frozen peas and oven chips?
###
Article: James Ibori is in prison for fraud and money-laundering linked to his time as the governor of Nigeria's Delta state.
The Crown Prosecution Service says it has intelligence which "supports the assertion" a Met officer was paid for information. He denies wrongdoing.
The CPS previously denied claims it had not handed over all key evidence.
James Ibori, a former governor of one of Nigeria's oil-producing states, was jailed in 2012 for 13 years for laundering millions in the UK through the purchase of property, a fleet of armoured Range Rovers and a £120,000 Bentley.
The conviction of Ibori was the prize for a government anti-corruption campaign initiated by the Department for International Development (DfID) 10 years ago.
Det Sgt John McDonald, who is accused of receiving payment in return for providing information about the case, headed the police investigation. He has always denied any wrongdoing.
Det Sgt McDonald has been removed from the National Crime Agency's International Corruption Unit, where he had been on secondment. He has returned to the Met, where a review of his status has begun.
The CPS has also replaced the prosecution team involved in ongoing cases connected to the Ibori affair, although it stressed the lawyers still retained its full confidence.
James Ibori: How a thief almost became Nigeria's president
Since Ibori's conviction, defence lawyers have claimed the CPS "wilfully misled" judges about the existence of evidence that Det Sgt McDonald took money in return for information about the case.
If that was to be accepted, Ibori's legal team would seek to have their client's conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal on the basis that there had been abuse of the process.
At a hearing on Thursday, Ibori's lawyer, Ivan Krolic, said prosecutors had consistently and deliberately manipulated the system.
"Our argument is that the whole process is infected," he told Southwark Crown Court.
The CPS has now issued a statement confirming that a review is under way into aspects of the Ibori case.
"The CPS...

Summary: A police officer has been removed from a UK anti-corruption unit after claims he was paid for information about a case against a Nigerian politician.
###
Article: The building society - the UK's second biggest mortgage lender - said that 38% of properties were sold to cash buyers.
It said that low interest rates had encouraged investment in bricks and mortar, while mortgage lending had been squeezed in recent years by the banks.
It also said that UK house prices in May were 4.6% higher than a year ago.
This was a slowdown from the 5.2% annual rate of increase recorded in April.
Nationwide said this marked a resumption of a "gradual downward trend" in annual price growth which had begun last summer.
However, prices in May were up 0.3% compared with April, taking the average price of a property to Â£195,166.
The proportion of cash transactions - without the need for a mortgage - leapt in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis, based on Nationwide's own data.
Tighter credit conditions and unemployment drove the increase at this time, according to Robert Gardner, chief economist at the Nationwide. These elements would not have had the same effect on cash transactions.
Last year, the average proportion of cash buyers was 36%, which then moved up to the new record level of 38% in the first quarter of this year.
Figures published by the Bank of England suggests that the peak is unlikely to be extended, owing to a pick-up in mortgage lending. The number of mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to a 14-month high in April, Bank data showed on Tuesday.
"I suspect [the proportion] will fall throughout the year as lenders and borrowers adjust to, and become more familiar with, the new lending rules," said Alex Gosling, chief executive of online estate agents HouseSimple.com.
"This realignment of buyers with lenders may well be evident in the strong mortgage approvals data issued this week by the Bank of England."
The actual number of cash buyers, rather than the proportion, has risen slightly since 2008, but has still not reached the peak seen during the housing boom of 2007.
The highest proportion of cash buyers - nearly 50% - was in the North East of England,...

Summary: Nearly four out of 10 homes were sold without the need for a mortgage in the first quarter of the year - a record high, the Nationwide has said.
###
Article: The Work and Pensions Committee said the age would need to rise above 70 to make the current policy of increasing the pension amount sustainable.
State pensions rise each year by the inflation rate or whichever is highest of average earnings or 2.5% -  as part of the so-called pensions triple-lock.
The government said it was committed to the policy until 2020 at least.
As a result of triple-lock policy, the state pension has risen by Â£1,100 since 2010.
In November the committee said the policy should be scrapped.
The committee commissioned the Institute for Fiscal Studies to estimate the extra state pension age increases that would be needed to maintain expenditure at about 6% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
It found that the state pension age would need to be 70.5 years by 2060.
But the committee's research found that in deprived areas of England and Scotland, male life expectancy was below that level.
Currently, the state pension age is set to be 67 for both men and women by 2028.
The committee said:
Frank Field, committee chairman, said: "With the triple-lock in place, the only way state pension expenditure can be made sustainable is to keep raising the state pension age.
"This has the effect of excluding ever more people from the state pension altogether.
"Such people will disproportionately be from more deprived areas and manual occupations, while those benefitting most will be the relatively prosperous."
He said that the state pension will be at a level by 2020 where it will provide a "decent minimum income" for the older generation and the triple-lock "will have done its job and it will be time therefore to retire it".
Instead of the triple-lock, the committee said the new state pension and basic state pension could be linked simply to average earnings - which the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimates would save 0.8% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) a year.
That would be a real terms reduction of Â£15bn at today's prices, the equivalent to 4p on the basic rate of income tax, it said.
Historically,...

Summary: The state pension age may have to rise to levels above the average lifespan of men in the UK's poorer areas, MPs say.
###
Article: Amnesty says oil companies often blame oil spills on sabotage in order to get out of paying compensation when in fact corroded pipes are the cause.
The report says the process of cleaning up the oil spills is completely discredited.
Shell said it "firmly rejects unsubstantiated assertions".
It highlighted the issue of theft of crude oil, which it said "remains the main cause of oil pollution in the Delta".
Oil spills are having an appalling environmental impact on the Niger Delta and they are happening at an alarming rate, says the BBC's Will Ross in Lagos.
By Will RossBBC News, Lagos
When I have met people in the affected communities in the Niger Delta, they have complained that their own input into the oil spill investigation process is often trumped by the word of the oil company, and they also cite intimidation by the security forces.
What is needed is a robust independent body to oversee the investigation because sometimes the oil companies are, to use a sporting analogy, playing the referee in a game in which they are themselves accused of committing reckless tackles.
Partly because of the rampant poverty in the oil-rich Niger Delta, the focus is on the money rather than on what is best for the environment. Some people are willing to cause an oil spill with the aim of gaining financially from the funds allocated to clean up the environment.
There are even cases where employees of a major oil company have tried to bid for a contract to clean up a spill. It is a tragedy but oil spills pay.
In its report, Amnesty identifies a "staggering" 474 spills in 2012 in one area alone, operated by the Nigerian Agip Oil Company - a subsidiary of Italian firm ENI.
Agip's head of operations in Nigeria, Ciro Pagano, told the BBC's Newsday programme that all the spills were recorded so there was little room for dispute.
He also said that Eni paid all compensation due to local communities, according to Nigerian law.
Working with a local human rights group, Amnesty studied the oil spill investigation process in Nigeria...

Summary: Amnesty International has accused major oil companies, including Shell, of failing to report the true picture of oil spills in Nigeria.
###
Article: The round £1 will be legal tender alongside the new, more-secure coin until 15 October.
The public are being urged to use their current £1 coins or bank them before they lose their legal tender status.
The government estimates around a third of the £1.3 billion worth of coins stored in piggy banks or saving jars around the UK are the current £1 style.
Some of those returned by the public will be melted down and used to make the 12-sided version.
The new style was announced in the 2014 budget and has been billed by the Royal Mint as "the most secure coin in the world".
Its introduction will come as a new set of coin designs are also brought into circulation, celebrating the achievements of Jane Austen and Sir Isaac Newton.
The Royal Mint said the new designs have a "strong pioneering theme" and will start appearing this spring.
A Jane Austen £2 coin will celebrate the author 200 years after her death, while another £2 version will remember the Royal Flying Corps.
A 50p coin will mark the achievements of mathematician Sir Isaac Newton, a one-time Master of the Royal Mint.
Dr Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum, said: "This is a particularly significant year in Royal Mint history as we welcome in the new 12-sided £1 coin, with its innovative security features.
"This year we also mark the achievements of Jane Austen, Sir Isaac Newton and the Royal Flying Corps - all pioneers in their own field."

Summary:


Russian coaches who "do not understand how to work without doping" should "retire" says the country's deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko.

Article: Mr Pig had a large tumour on his face and was seized by RSPCA officers, who said he had been suffering "in a huge amount of pain".
Bob Skinner, of Corfe Mullen, Dorset, said his 20-year-old kunekune "was old but wasn't ready to be put down".
Mr Skinner, who was found to be in breach of animal welfare laws, has complained to Dorset Trading Standards.
The RSPCA took Mr Skinner to court after he failed to seek veterinary treatment for Mr Pig.
In a statement the charity said: "We have received a complaint regarding our investigations and are currently looking in to the matter."
The RSPCA has previously defended its decision to put the pig down, which it said had "been suffering significantly for three to four weeks".
Mr Skinner said: "Mr Pig was taken and put down for no apparent reason other than he had an ulcer on his face. I'm not quite sure where it went wrong."
He described Mr Pig as his "only companion", adding: "He made my days."
In a statement, Dorset Trading Standards - which gave the RSPCA permission to put Mr Pig down - said: "The vet certified that the animal was being caused suffering.
"Using our powers under the Animal Welfare Act 2006, we permitted the RSPCA to seize the animal for further checks.
"The following day, an RSPCA vet requested that the pig be put down."
The RSPCA said it had arranged to return Mr Pig's body to Mr Skinner.

Summary: A man prosecuted for failing to look after his pig has lodged a complaint against the RSPCA for putting it down.
###
Article: Dionne Russell, from Radford, was issued with the penalty on Thursday after using the Central Six retail park on 14 May.
Miss Russell, who spent 40 minutes shopping at the site, said the charge was a "cheek".
G24, which runs the car park, declined to comment.
Miss Russell told the Coventry Telegraph she had gone to Hobbycraft at about 14:45 BST and had spent 40 minutes shopping before returning to her car.
On trying to exit the site, she said she hit a bottleneck caused by the Friargate roadworks and could not leave until 18:10.
She said: "I was quite annoyed that, having completely wasted two hours of my life in a queue, the company had the cheek to send out the notice.
"Surely they should have somebody on site to tell the parking people that the road was gridlocked."
She said she would be "interested" to know if anybody else had been charged.
Miss Russell was sent images of her car entering and leaving the site which has a three-hour maximum time limit.
"The photo of me leaving the site had cars behind me and in front of me because it was a stationary queue," she said.
She added she would be contesting the penalty.

Summary: A woman who says she was stuck in a two-hour queue to exit a Coventry car park has been issued with a £70 charge for overstaying the time limit.
###
Article: It was entitled the 10 Immutable Laws Of Security.
Fifteen years is a long time in cybersecurity, so it seemed like a good time to revisit these "laws" and put them in the a context you might encounter this Christmas - a time when there's often a spike in attacks.
Observing them could prevent a festive season you'd rather forget.
Most hacks begin this way - you receive an email, or SMS, you visit a link and are given a convincing reason why you have to install something.
Or, you receive an email with a document attached, open it and it installs the malware for you.
Think twice, click once.
If something is unexpected don't trust it: delete it.
Be careful where you buy that Christmas present from or you may get more than you bargained.
Even reputable manufacturers have been found to install elements into an operating system that cause major security headaches.
If at all possible, buy devices that give you the necessary data - original keys and software - to reinstall the operating system.
A fresh install is the only way you can be certain of what you're getting.
It's a pain but it's worth it.
Most people are completely unaware of how vulnerable their machines are to uploading malicious software simply by allowing someone to plug in a USB stick.
Even if your computer is powered off, a hacker might be able to boot off a USB stick and install malware or add hidden elements.
Unless you want to superglue shut all of the physical connections on your device - not recommended - just do not give anyone "alone time" with you precious machine.
And, if at all possible, encrypt your hard drive so it is more secure when powered off.
With over a billion active websites in the world, hackers don't just target individuals' machines.
They can upload code in unexpected ways.
We have seen major brands breached as they didn't prevent hackers injecting code into web forms. We have seen malware being passed onto visitors via embedded adverts.
Website developers typically don't think like hackers. They design their sites to be helpful...

Summary: In 2000, Scott Culp wrote a terrific essay on computer security.
###
Article: Unite said the 24-hour strike was being planned for Wednesday 6 May.
Last month, public transport workers took part in a one-day strike involving education, administration and health service staff.
It caused disruption across many areas of Northern Ireland.
Unite said the second strike would affect Ulsterbus, Metro and NI Railways services.
Its regional secretary Jimmy Kelly said workers were taking industrial action in response to proposed cuts to Translink's bus and rail services.
He said: "The proposed cuts will impact the most vulnerable people in our society - including the old and infirm, those with families, the working poor, those living in isolated, rural communities who are dependent on public transport.
"These cuts will compromise the integrity and inter-connectivity upon which Northern Ireland's public transport system rests.
"Our drivers and engineers are concerned that cuts to 'non-economic' services presage moves to break up and contract out profitable routes - a move that would undermine the 85% of routes that are non-profitable."
Unite added that it will be working with other trade unions that represent Translink staff to take forward the industrial action.

Summary: Public transport workers are to take part in a second strike that will affect all bus and rail services in Northern Ireland, the union Unite has said.
###
Article: Government gains are being reported in Idlib, Hama and Latakia provinces.
Russia says its aircraft carried out more than 60 missions over Syria in the past 24 hours, and that the Islamic State group was its main target.
But the Russian strikes appear to have impacted heavily on rebels fighting both the government and IS.
The main battlefront is currently close to the key highway that links the capital Damascus with other major cities, including Aleppo, and President Bashar al-Assad's forces are believed to be seeking to cut off rebels in Idlib.
Before Russia's intervention, Idlib had all but fallen to a rebel coalition that had been seriously threatening Mr Assad and his heartland as well as fighting IS, BBC Arab affairs editor Sebastian Usher reports.
The government gains were reported both by Damascus and opposition activists.
Government forces are basically trying to win back areas they lost earlier this year, to the north of the city of Hama, and in the northern  mountains of Latakia province near the coast. Rebels had penetrated there after unifying their ranks and with more concerted backing from their outside supporters, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
That posed a real threat to the heartland of Bashar al-Assad's regime, and it is almost certainly what triggered the Russian intervention and a stepped-up role by Iran.
A senior commander of the al-Nusra Front, the al-Qaeda affiliate which has forces in the area, has issued a call to all the rebel groups to unify and launch a co-ordinated counter-attack on all fronts.
He said if the rebels lost the initiative to the regime and the Russians, they would suffer a series of collapses and their future would be bleak.
The battle for Syria and Iraq in maps
Syria's civil war explained
Russia says its strikes, which began on 30 September, have been closely co-ordinated with the Syrian government. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Sunday that the strikes were the execution of "previously drawn plans".
"We persistently conducted reconnaissance, for a long...

Summary: Syrian forces backed by Hezbollah militants from Lebanon are said to have made significant advances against rebels after heavy Russian air strikes.
###
Article: Russia was suspended by governing body the IAAF for state-sponsored doping in November 2015, a ban extended on Monday to cover the 2017 World Championships.
Mutko, who was criticised by the IAAF on Monday, accepted "there were many abuses and breaches" but says "colossal work has been done" over the last year.
Russia expects to be back by November.
A return to competition will require the reinstatement of the national drug-testing agency, which remains suspended over various allegations of covering up doping.
Mutko - who assumed his role in October - has been outspoken since the McLaren report alleged there had been a state-backed Russian doping programme. In January he said female doping results can be distorted if athletes have had sex in the days leading up to a test.
But on Monday he said: "Athletes broke the rules and many coaches don't understand how to work without doping and it's high time for them to retire."
Russia will miss the World Championships which begin on 4 August in London, but some athletes from the country could compete in London under a neutral banner.
The IAAF is so far considering 35 applications from athletes, who could be included if they can show a record of independent drug-testing by agencies other than the suspended national body.
Russian track federation vice president Andrei Silnov said he was against the inclusion of neutral athletes in principle but also questioned if the country's problems were as bad as the IAAF outlined.
"It's all being solved, slowly but surely. We're doing what we need to do," Silnov said. `"They say we have a culture of doping. What culture of doping?"

Summary:

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Charles Schulz's characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy have been talking about the secret of their strong friendships.

Article: Livestock faeces has entered a burn that runs near the farm at Knocknagael and down through housing developments in Inverness.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has been working with farm staff to resolve the problem.
The housing developments close to the burn include Culduthel Mains and Holm Dell.
A notice has appeared on a footbridge over the burn warning people to avoid the stream's water.
The sign advises people to wash hands and any clothing that does come into contact with the water with soap and warm water.
A spokesman for Sepa said: "Sepa received notification on Friday 5 August of a pollution issue in a burn which runs through Inverness.
"Sepa's investigations since then have identified that the problem originates from Knocknagael Stud Farm.
"We are in contact with all relevant partner organisations. We are working with the Scottish government to prevent any further escape of run-off."
A Scottish government spokesman said: "Action has been taken to address and prevent any further issue with the waste management system at the Knocknagael Bull Stud Farm.
"The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) is content with our approach."
The bull stud rents out its animals to crofters and farmers.
Knocknagael and adjoining Balrobert form the Scottish government's bull stud.

Summary: A Scottish government-owned bull stud farm is at the centre of a pollution incident.
###
Article: Minimum standards will be introduced later this year to weed out incompetent psychologists and other experts, the justice department said.
The courts will also be told to use fewer experts to save time and money.
The system has so far escaped scrutiny due to the secrecy surrounding family courts, critics say.
Lib Dem MP John Hemming, who campaigns for family law reform, said he "welcomed" the move.
He described the current lack of oversight of experts who were often responsible for life-changing decisions as an "absolute scandal".
Speaking in a Westminster Hall debate on Thursday, the Birmingham Yardley MP claimed some psychologists provided contradictory opinions depending on who was paying for their services or reached a verdict on whether someone was a fit parent without interviewing them.
"The idea that psychologists can come to conclusions about people and their merits as parents without even seeing them is an absurdity," he told MPs.
Justice Minister Jonathan Djanogly, responding for the government, said minimum standards would be introduced as part of wider reform of the family court system aimed at improving fairness and efficiency, including greater use of mediation.
"Expert evidence will continue to be important in some cases to ensure a fair and complete process," the justice minister told MPs, but he said the government was "working to ensure it is of high quality and that it is delivered promptly".
"The main elements will be to raise the threshold for a court to permit an expert to be instructed, where expert witness evidence must be necessary rather than reasonably required."
He said family courts had to be more conscious about the cost and time delays and urged them to "exercise better control on the questions put to the expert".
He added: "We recognise also that minimum standards are necessary for expert witnesses in the family courts and so we are working with the department of health, health regulators and the family justice council to establish minimum standards that judges should expect...

Summary: Fewer decisions about the care of children will be made on the advice of poorly qualified experts in the family courts under government plans.
###
Article: The Liberal Democrats lost two seats, as well as its group leader, while Labour lost one of its four seats and UKIP lost its only one.
Turnout for the county-wide vote was nearly 40%, the council confirmed.
Meanwhile, Labour won two of the three controversial new parish councils in Swindon.
Election 2017: Full results from across England
The Conservatives gained seven seats to hold more than two-thirds of the Wiltshire Council chamber, while the Lib Dems now hold 20, Independents seven and Labour three.
Lib Dem opposition leader Glenis Ansell lost her seat in Calne North to the Tories, but her party did have the satisfaction of winning Melksham Central from UKIP.
Gavin Grant, the Lib Dem councillor for Malmesbury, said it was "desperately sad" to lose Glenis Ansell, but added: "It's very noticeable in areas that voted Remain in last year's referendum we are performing extremely strongly and are well placed to challenge Brexiteer Conservatives."
Baroness Jane Scott, the current Conservative council leader, said the Tories had "started to make inroads into the market towns".
"I've been a councillor for over 20 years and those market towns for a long, long time were dominated by the Liberal Democrats," she said.
"We're just beginning now to really change that, quite considerably, and that's quite important because we don't want a spilt county - rural and urban - we want a totally united county."
In Swindon, Labour won two of three new parish councils created to save borough council funds.
Labour took majorities in the North Central and South Central councils, with the Conservatives winning in West Swindon.
The creation of parish councils was controversial as the Conservative-run borough council created them to transfer the cost of services such as grass cutting and street cleaning.
Critics said the changes were not wanted and would result in council taxpayers paying more.

Summary: The Conservative Party has increased its majority at Wiltshire Council, securing 68 out of 98 seats.
###
Article: Armed police and specialist officers were called to a flat in Alexandra Road, Blackpool at about 15:20 GMT following reports a man had a weapon.
A woman was taken to hospital with a minor head injury.
The man left the flat voluntarily and is being held in custody for questioning.
A Lancashire Police spokeswoman said: "Specialist officers negotiated with a 43-year old-man in a flat for around five hours before he voluntarily left the flat.
"A weapon has been recovered."
A cordon had been placed on either side of Alexandra Road while negotiations took place.
Neighbours reported a heavy police presence, saying the road was cordoned off but that some residents were later escorted back to their homes.
Ann-Marie Farren, from Alexandra Road, said: "I was driving home from work and saw dozens of police cars."

Summary: A 43-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was injured during a five-hour stand-off with police in Lancashire.
###
Article: Fipronil is commonly used to get rid of fleas, lice and ticks but is banned by the European Union for use on animals destined for human consumption, such as chickens.
The outbreak originated in the Netherlands, which is one of Europe's biggest egg producers. There is no evidence yet that it has harmed anyone.
Fipronil is a popular pesticide, often used to de-flea household pets such as dogs and cats. It is also effective at treating red lice, which are commonly found in poultry.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says fipronil is "moderately toxic" to people if it is eaten in large quantities, and can have dangerous effects on the kidneys, liver and thyroid glands.
It can also cause "nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, and epileptic seizures," says the Dutch food standards' agency the NOVA, although its effects are reversible.
The Dutch food standards agency NOVA has published a list of certain batch codes of eggs that should not be consumed. It said one batch in particular - with the code 2-NL-4015502 - could pose "an acute danger to public health".
It has also recalled eggs from some 59 producers whose fipronil levels it says could pose a risk to children if eaten too frequently over the long term.
Dutch eggs have also been removed as a precaution from supermarkets in Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Britain and France.
While tests have found levels higher than the recommended EU limit of 0.72 mg/kg in eggs, both food standards' agencies and toxicologists are playing down the risks for anyone who has already eaten contaminated eggs.
Dutch toxicologist Martin van den Berg told local media that it would only be harmful "if you eat them every day throughout your life."
The German food standards' agency said that an excess of fipronil in the short term "does not automatically mean that consumption of the food in question involves a health risk".
The British Food Standards' Agency said the number of affected eggs represents about 0.00001 percent of eggs imported into the UK each year, and said...

Summary: Millions of eggs have been pulled from supermarket shelves in several European countries - including the UK - after it was discovered that some had been contaminated with the potentially harmful insecticide fipronil.
###
Article: 22 December 2015 Last updated at 09:18 GMT
They're all back on the big screen again in The Peanuts Movie.
The characters have been revived for their first feature film in 35 years, by the creator Charles Schulz's son and grandson.
Other familiar characters are also back including Charlie Brown's friend the Little Red-Haired Girl, and Snoopy's nemesis the Red Baron.
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock and Lucy all spoke to entertainment reporter Genevieve Hassan.

Summary:


The clash between Apple and the FBI over whether the company should provide access to encrypted data on a locked iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino attackers highlights debates about privacy and data security which have raged for decades.

Article: The rocky planet, Kepler 186f, is close to the size of Earth and has the potential to hold liquid water, which is critical for life, the team says.
Nestled in the Milky Way, it is part of a five-planet system that orbits around a cool dwarf star.
It was spotted by the Kepler telescope, which has found nearly 1,000 new worlds since its launch in 2009.
"This is the smallest planet we've found so far in the habitable zone," said Prof Stephen Kane, an astrophysicist from San Francisco State University, US.
Kepler 186f is about 500 light-years away from the Earth.
The researchers estimate that is a little bigger than our planet, with a radius that is about 10% larger than ours.
Because of its size, the team believes it is a rocky planet.
Prof Kane explained: "There seems to be a transition that occurs at about 1.5 times the Earth's radius, such that if the planet is larger, then it starts to develop a very substantial atmosphere very similar to what we see in the gas giant planets in our own Solar System.
"And so anything less than 1.5 is probably more like a rocky planet that we are familiar with."
Kepler 186f travels around a small and cool star. Of the five planets in the system, its orbit is furthest out and lasts about 130 days.
The team believes that it has the potential to hold water because with this orbital path it does not journey too close to its star for the liquid to boil away or so far out that it would freeze. Scientists call this region the "habitable zone".
Prof Kane said: "Even though it is orbiting a star which is very different from our Sun, the planet itself - both in terms of size and the amount of energy it is receiving from its star - is the most similar planet to our Earth that we've yet discovered.
"That is great news in terms of looking for planets which might actually be similar to the Earth, especially as the kind of star it does orbit - which is a very small star - are amongst the most common in the galaxy.
"And if all of these very common small stars have lots of terrestrial-sized...

Summary: The most Earth-like planet yet has been discovered, scientists report in the journal Science.
###
Article: Club director Easdale met last week with Rizvi, who is wanted by Interpol, and Malaysian Datuk Faizoull Bin Ahmad.
Bin Ahmad has since been quoted by a Malaysian news agency denying any relationship with Rizvi.
That prompted a Rangers fans group to repeat its call for the other directors to remove Easdale from the football club board.
The Union of Fans, a coalition of Rangers supporters groups, has stated its opposition to Rizvi having any involvement at Ibrox. He has previously been associated with the former chief executive Charles Green and the former commercial director Imran Ahmad.
Rizvi attended the meeting in Glasgow last week with Easdale, Bin Ahmad and two of the Malaysian businessmen's associates. A Malaysian news agency has since quoted Bin Ahmad as denying that Rizvi was part of his entourage.
Rizvi's role in proceedings raised controversy as he is wanted in Indonesia over a conviction in absentia for banking crimes, leading Rangers to issue a statement that said he was an advisor to Ahmad.
Ahmad was also quoted as saying that his associate, understood to be Azman bin Ismail, was interested in buying the club. Ahmad and Bin Ismail were pictured in Glasgow last week, having had lunch with Easdale and Rizvi.
The source added that Easdale remains hopeful of attracting external investment to Ibrox.
Bin Ahmad is chairman of Malaysian Super League side Felda United and an Ibrox spokesman insisted that the purpose of his visit was to investigate a potential youth and community tie-up with the Scottish Championship club.
The Malaysian news agency report quotes Bin Ahmad as saying: "I have no idea who Rafat Rizvi is."
Easdale claimed in an interview last year that he had not had any business dealings with Rizvi.
The Union of Fans have called for the Rangers International Football Club directors to act against Sandy Easdale, who is a shareholder and chairman of the football club board but is not a member of the plc board, of which his brother, James, is a non-executive director.
"The Union of Fans has...

Summary: A source close to Sandy Easdale has told BBC Scotland that Rafat Rizvi has been introducing investors to Rangers.
###
Article: Scientists sequenced genomes from 10 skeletons unearthed in eastern England and dating from the Iron Age through to the Anglo-Saxon period.
Many of the Anglo-Saxon samples appeared closer to modern Dutch and Danish people than the Iron Age Britons did.
The results appear in Nature Communications journal.
According to historical accounts and archaeology, the Anglo-Saxons migrated to Britain from continental Europe from the 5th Century AD. They brought with them a new culture, social structure and language.
Genetic studies have tackled the question of Anglo-Saxon ancestry before, but sometimes gave conflicting results.
Confounding factors included the close genetic affinities of people in North-West Europe and the scarcity of ancient DNA from indigenous Britons and the Germanic-speaking migrants.
Dr Stephan Schiffels of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Germany sequenced genomes of human remains from Hinxton, Saffron Walden, Linton and Oakington - all of which are near Cambridge.
The burials fall into three different age categories: Iron Age, early Anglo-Saxon and Middle Anglo-Saxon.
Contrary to narratives suggesting large-scale displacement of the Britons by Anglo-Saxon invaders, the researchers found evidence of intermarriage in the earliest phase of settlement.
In order to disentangle the Anglo-Saxon signal from the indigenous British genetic background, the researchers looked at many rare mutations across the whole genome.
"We found that these rare mutations were the key to studying historical samples. We could compare our ancient samples with modern samples in an improved way," Dr Schiffels told BBC News.
"We could look at these in a very large sample of modern Europeans. For example, we studied low frequency mutations that must have occurred in the ancestors of the Dutch over the last few thousand years.
"We found that these mutations were shared with the Anglo-Saxon immigrants at a factor of two more than they are with the indigenous Celtic people. These rare mutations are...

Summary: The present-day English owe about a third of their ancestry to the Anglo-Saxons, according to a new study.
###
Article: Richard Keen QC is stepping down from his position as chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party to become the new Advocate General for Scotland.
He was previously dean of the Faculty of Advocates.
Mr Keen said it would be a "great honour" to support the UK government at a "crucial point" as new legislation brings further devolution to Holyrood.
He said: "I am delighted to be appointed Advocate General for Scotland.
"It is a great honour to join the UK government and I look forward to working with my ministerial colleagues to support the work of the UK government in Scotland at this crucial point in our political and constitutional history."
Mr Keen is one of the most prominent figures in Scottish legal circles. He stood down from his role at the Faculty of Advocates to become the chairman of the Scottish Conservatives.
Scottish Secretary David Mundell said: "This is a key job for Scotland and Richard is exactly the right person to take it on.
"He is one of our most respected and experienced legal minds, and will have a central role in supporting the UK government in Scotland, not least as we work to strengthen devolution to the Scottish Parliament."

Summary: One of Scotland's leading lawyers has been appointed as the UK government's most senior adviser on Scots law.
###
Article: The 165-hectare (408 acres) Dunsbury Farm borders the wildlife-rich chalk downland of Compton.
The trust intends to develop the farm habitat to support species including the Glanville fritillary.
Manager Tony Tutton said the Â£2.7m purchase was a "crucial piece of the coastal jigsaw" for the trust.
The trust said it was its largest coastal acquisition in England since 1993.
The Isle of Wight is home to the UK's main population of the Glanville fritillary, and Compton Bay is a traditional stronghold.
The butterfly relies on crumbling cliffs, and the downs behind the coast provide additional breeding habitat.
The National Trust said it would work in partnership with Butterfly Conservation to create the right conditions to safeguard its habitat.
Source: Butterfly Conservation
"Given time and lots of hard work the farm will also become a vital place where we can combine people's enjoyment of butterflies and farmland birds with the stunning views along the chalk cliffs towards the Needles."
Funding for buying the farm came mainly from the National Trust's Neptune Coastal Campaign appeal.

Summary: The habitat of a rare butterfly on the Isle of Wight is to be protected following a major acquisition of farmland by the National Trust.
###
Article: Cryptography was once controlled by the state and deployed only for military and diplomatic ends. But in the 1970s, cryptographer Whitfield Diffie devised a system which took encryption keys away from the state and marked the start of the so-called "Crypto Wars".
Whitfield Diffie and three other experts spoke to the BBC World Service Inquiry programme about the tensions at the heart of the spat between Apple and the FBI.
In 1975, cryptographer Whitfield Diffie devised "public key cryptography", which revolutionised encryption.
"The basic techniques we used until public key cryptography come from around 1500 in the western world, and were known from about 800 in the Middle East.
"They are basically arithmetic. Not ordinary integer arithmetic, but something like clock arithmetic - it's 11 o'clock and you wait three hours and you get 2 o'clock - and table lookups. What's the 5th element in the table? What's the 20th element?
"The trouble is you can't do them very well without some kind of mechanical computation. A human being can't do enough of those calculations to produce a secure system without making too many mistakes.
"Before what we did, you could not have supported cryptography outside a fairly integrated organisation. If you look at the US Department of Defense, it's very large, but very centralised; everybody knows the chain of command.
"They can have a trusted entity run by the National Security Agency (NSA) to manage the keys [used by the military and government]. If you were in the military, and it was part of your assignment to talk to somebody securely in another part of the military, they would supply you with a key, and every morning you come out and put one in your teletype machine or phone or whatever.
"But the internet is not just meant for friends to talk to friends, it's for everybody to talk to everybody. Until you have public key cryptography you have no way of arranging the keys on demand at a moment's notice for these secure communications.
"That's what browsers do with websites all the...

Summary:


Plans to relax so-called "purdah rules" on government announcements in the run-up to the EU referendum are to be the subject of a quickfire inquiry by MPs.

Article: The idea of "biodiversity offsetting" is controversial, with some campaigners dubbing it a "licence to trash".
It means developers planning to build houses in environmentally sensitive areas would be allowed to go ahead if they could offset damage by paying for conservation activities elsewhere.
The environment department Defra has published a green paper on the scheme.
"Offsetting is an exciting opportunity to look at how we can improve the environment as well as grow the economy," said environment secretary Owen Paterson.
Commenting on the consultation, which will conclude on 7 November, he said: "We want to hear from developer and wildlife groups alike on how we can simplify the existing planning process while enhancing our natural environment.
"There is no reason why wildlife and development can't flourish side by side."
In England, six pilot areas were selected in 2012 for two year trials of a voluntary approach to offsetting through the planning system.
In March this year, a report from the government's Ecosystems Markets Task Force recommended that the offsetting scheme should be rolled out nationwide as a matter of priority.
Offsetting, it said, would "revolutionise conservation in England by delivering restoration, creation and long term management on in excess of 300,000 hectares of habitat over 20 years".
Similar schemes have been up and running for many years in other parts of the world. But environmental groups have highlighted problems with the idea.
The Woodland Trust has campaigned against the inclusion of ancient woodlands in any offsetting scheme and it rejects the suggestion that the future of these habitats should rest on the proposed economic benefit of a given development.
The Trust's chief executive Sue Holden said she welcomed the fact this green paper recognised the "irreplaceable" nature of these woodlands. But she added: "We need to see a more robust use of planning law to support this, ensuring that irreplaceable habitats are treated as such.
"Offsetting should only ever be a last...

Summary: The UK government has outlined its proposals on compensating for the loss of biodiversity through development.
###
Article: That figure is the recommendation of the panel that was tasked with setting MLAs' expenses and salaries.
After the assembly election, the UUP and SDLP said they would not go into the executive and went into opposition.
Now the Independent Financial Review Panel (IFRP) has written to assembly speaker Robin Newton saying pay must reflect the reality of opposition.
At present MLAs are paid £49,000 a year, whilst ministers below the level of first and deputy first ministers are on £87,000.
The review panel recommends opposition leaders, who are entitled to a seat in the executive but who do not take one, should get £68,000.
The panel, whose term of office ended last week, also recommends opposition leaders should get support staff.
Panel member Alan McQuillan told the BBC: "Our responsibility was to look at expenses and salaries payable to people and to make sure they were fair in comparison to the jobs they did."
He added: "They were quite clearly new jobs. They had additional responsibilities.
"We thought it would be fair to pitch them somewhere between the salary of a Minister and an ordinary MLA. So we thought they needed more salary but we also felt to do their job effectively they needed additional expenses."
The panel's proposals have received a cold response from the political parties.
On Tuesday, the UUP said they were sceptical of the need for an increased salary for opposition leaders. A spokeswoman told the BBC they wanted extra resources for support and research.
A DUP spokesman said: "Provision for opposition research funding has already been made.  The question of further funding is a matter for the parties in the assembly but we are not persuaded of the need to fund specific opposition posts where there is little additional responsibility."
A Sinn Féin representative said: "The proposal for increases in salaries and resources for opposition leaders, as mooted by former members of the IFRP, is not included in the Fresh Start Agreement".
The SDLP declined to comment.
The letter to Assembly speaker...

Summary: Leaders of the opposition at Stormont should receive a salary of £68,000 and should get support staff.
###
Article: Helen Carmichael is a councillor for Highland Council's Aird and Loch Ness ward.
The earliest reference to a provost of Inverness was a "provost junor" in the 1400s.
In another first for the historic position, Ms Carmichael is also leader of the council's Inverness and Area district.
It had previously been a separate post but has been merged with the role of provost.

Summary: A woman has been elected provost of Inverness for the first time in the 600-year history of the civic role.
###
Article: Joaquin Garcia, 69, was fined â‚¬27,000 (Â£21,000; $30,000) after the award brought his long absence to light.
Mr Garcia, whose job was to supervise the building of a waste water treatment plant, has since retired.
He denies the allegations and his lawyer says he has gone into hiding after suffering a media "lynching".
Mr Garcia said he had been a victim of political bullying in the job and moved to a post where there was no work to do.
He was paid â‚¬37,000 a year before tax by a water company run by local authorities in the south-western city of Cadiz. A court found in the authority's favour and ordered him to pay the fine ,which is equivalent to one year's salary after tax and was the most that the company could legally reclaim.
He has written to the mayor asking not to have to pay the fine, and will ask for a review of the judgement.
Spanish newspapers have dubbed him "el funcionario fantasma" - the phantom official.
The court heard that the boss of the water company had not seen Mr Garcia for years despite occupying an office opposite his.
The water company thought he was supervised by the local authorities and vice versa.
The deputy mayor noticed his absence when Mr Garcia became eligible to receive a plaque for 20 years' service.
Mr Garcia says he was bullied due to his family's politics, and was sent to the water company to be out of the way. He found there was no work to do there.
People close to him told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that he was reluctant to report it as he had a family to provide for, and worried that at his age he would not get another job.
They said he did go to the office, although not for full business hours every day, and that he dedicated himself to reading philosophy.

Summary: A Spanish civil servant who failed to turn up for work for "at least" six years has been caught after becoming eligible for a long service award.
###
Article: Here we present a selection of the projects that will be on show.
With the growing numbers of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe, Kiki Streitberger decided to focus her attention on their story.
Rather than producing portraits or images of ships laden with people, she took a step back and photographed the possessions they managed to bring with them.
"I wanted to know what people who leave everything behind to embark on such a gruelling journey manage to take over into a new life and what these items mean to them," says Streitberger.
"Most of the images were taken in a makeshift studio. I would take the items with me overnight, take the pictures and return them to their owners the next day. Sometimes I could hardly sleep for fear of losing one of those precious items."
It's an engaging piece of work, as the images sit alongside an explanation of what the items mean to the owners.
The images and stories that accompany them can be seen in this associated picture gallery.
You can also see more of Kiki Streitberger's work on her website.
Kevin Percival's pictures look at ways in which warfare has become assimilated and normalised, from the virtual world of computer games to the supposed team bonding of paintball.
"From news imagery of modern conflicts, to remembrance parades, air shows, video games and of course films, war is glamorised and packaged," says Percival.
"With this saturation of imagery feeding into the cultural conscious, it is little wonder we are fascinated by it."
"Whilst video games are now used to recruit and even train fresh, young soldiers, physical games such as airsoft and paintball respond to this cultural mythology through which we filter the realities of war."
"The props, costumes and arenas mimic popular culture and exaggerate and romanticise the reality, allowing a bizarre mix of violence and false-heroism to slip into civilian society," Percival adds.
This trickle-down effect extends to the startlingly accurate replica weapons sold as children's toys - and ultimately...

Summary: Students on the postgraduate documentary photography and photojournalism course at the University of Westminster present their final projects at an exhibition in London on 21 August.
###
Article: The Public Administration Committee said it would seek written evidence and publish an interim report before the summer recess later this month.
Eurosceptic Tories fear the rules are being amended to allow the government to campaign openly to stay in the EU.
But ministers say it is needed to allow them to continue their work.
The committee, headed by Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, said the purdah probe would form the first part of a wide-ranging inquiry into the EU Referendum Bill, the proposed law that will authorise a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU by the end of 2017.
Mr Jenkin said he and his colleagues wanted to know why the government was planning to partially "disapply" the existing rules on government announcements in the four weeks leading up to the referendum.
The inquiry will focus on the existing rules, as set out in the 2000 Political Parties and Referendum Act, the government's case for amending them, how ministers plan to go about it and the impact it will have on the impartiality of the civil service.
In a vote on the issue last month, 27 Conservative MPs rebelled against their party, urging ministers to reinstate the full purdah period although the government won the vote after Labour abstained.
The government has said the existing rules would potentially prevent ministers from attending EU meetings and making decisions with a European dimension. They have insisted they will address MPs' concerns about this and other matters - such as the funding available to different sides and the length of the campaign itself - as the bill makes its way through the Commons.
The committee will publish its report on 22 July.

Summary:


The British teenager who sold his news summary app to Yahoo for millions is facing a major life choice as he weighs education and business opportunities.

Article: Japan has apologised and will pay 1bn yen ($8.3m, Â£5.6m) - the amount South Korea asked for - to fund victims.
The issue has been the key cause for strained ties. South Korea has demanded stronger apologies and compensation.
Only 46 former "comfort women" are still alive in South Korea.
The announcement came after Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met his counterpart Yun Byung-se in Seoul, following moves to speed up talks.
Later Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe phoned South Korean President Park Geun-hye to repeat an apology already offered by Mr Kishida.
"Japan and South Korea are now entering a new era," Mr Abe told reporters afterwards. "We should not drag this problem into the next generation."
Ms Park issued a separate statement, saying a deal had been urgently needed - given the advanced age of most of the victims.
"Nine died this year alone," she said. "I hope the mental pains of the elderly comfort women will be eased."
It is estimated that up to 200,000 women were forced to be sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during WW2, many of them Korean. Other women came from China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan.
Read more: 'Comfort women' - a painful legacy
After the meeting in Seoul, Mr Kishida called the agreement "epoch-making".
"Prime Minister Abe expresses anew his most sincere apologies and remorse to all the women who underwent immeasurable and painful experiences and suffered incurable physical and psychological wounds as comfort women," Mr Kishida told reporters.
The wording of the deal does not explicitly state that the "comfort women" will receive direct compensation, but states that the fund will provide "support" and bankroll "projects for recovering the honour and dignity and healing the psychological wounds".
Some former "comfort women", such as Lee Yong-soo, have taken issue with this.
The 88-year-old told the BBC: "I wonder whether the talks took place with the victims really in mind. We're not after the money. If the Japanese committed their sins, they should offer direct...

Summary: Japan and South Korea have agreed to settle the issue of "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese brothels during World War Two, in their first such deal since 1965.
###
Article: He is one of seven Milton Keynes drivers found to have criminal convictions in a council investigation.
The inquiry came after a convicted rapist had both his private hire and Hackney Carriage licences revoked last week.
Council leader Peter Marland said the authority would take action when it had the "full facts".
A council spokesman said the issue was its "highest priority" and it was preparing to interview all drivers it had concerns about.
The driver convicted of four sexual assaults, including rape, had been issued with a private hire vehicle licence in September 2011, despite councillors knowing of his convictions.
He was granted a Hackney Carriage licence last March.
Both licences were revoked last week after a member of the public raised concerns about him.
The council said it had begun a detailed review of licence holders, which found seven other drivers gave "cause for concern".
Labour leader Mr Marland told BBC Three Counties Radio: "At the moment we are doing all the background checks.
"One of those [seven] drivers has handed in his plates and we will take immediate action against the other six as we find out more detail."
Mr Marland could not give a time scale but said it would be "as soon as we possibly can".
"I think our cabs are safe, the vast majority of taxi drivers in Milton Keynes are good, law abiding people," he said.
Liberal Democrat mayor Subhan Shafiq stepped down after he was found to have personally vouched for the convicted rapist, describing the man as being of "good current character".
The chairman and vice-chairman of the licensing committee, Gladstone McKenzie and Stuart Burke, have also resigned.

Summary: A taxi driver convicted of a sexual offence has not had his taxi licence taken away, a council has said.
###
Article: The work will see a 1,000 space park-and-ride at Elmbridge Court, road capacity improvements on the A40 and more frequent bus services.
However it does not include a railway station, which was originally looked at in 2005 but has since been dropped.
The measures are part of £854m worth of government investment in 21 transport schemes across England.
A spokesman for the Conservative-run Gloucestershire County Council said the work would make travel between the two destinations quicker and easier.
"The Elmbridge scheme will greatly improve transport for cars, buses and cyclists by making congestion-busting improvements to the road.
"It's simply about making things better at one of the busiest and most difficult junctions in the county.
We're delighted that this scheme has been accepted and that we are in line to receive almost [£14.1m out of £16.5m] the entire cost of the scheme.
"Costs over and above government funding would be met primarily from developer contributions," he added.
In September, Gloucestershire County Council had submitted its "best and final bid" for the Elmbridge Transport Scheme to the Department for Transport (DfT).
This was a revised version of plans originally put forward in March 2010.
The current bid includes:
It is hoped the work would be completed by 2015.

Summary: Funding has been approved for transport improvements and a new park-and-ride between Cheltenham and Gloucester.
###
Article: The policy is part of a plan to create a transport system that "works for commuters".
The party also wants bus services to be regulated in an effort to protect important but unprofitable routes.
The Scottish government said it was already rolling out plans for an integrated smart card.
The other main political parties will set out their transport policies ahead of the Holyrood election on 5 May.
Scottish Labour said its plans would be compulsory, apply to all transport operators and would be rolled out within the first year of a Scottish Labour government.
People would be able to use contactless credit or debit cards to pay for the smart card by the end of the next parliament, it said.
The Scottish government announced plans for an integrated Saltire Card - similar to London's Oyster card - in 2012, which the government said were now being rolled out.
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said the Scottish transport system was currently a "patchwork of services" which had left many areas "with no decent provision".
She added: "That's why we will legislate for an integrated transport system with regulated bus services and one smart ticket that can take you across Scotland.
"People should be able to travel the length and breadth of our country with one card in their pocket. In 2012, we were told this wasn't far off, but in 2016 we're still waiting.
"London has had a single smart card for 13 years and have recently started taking payments using contactless credit and debit cards. The technology exists - all we need is the political will to deliver it."
Statistics published in January showed the number of people using public transport in Scotland over the last nine years had fallen by 6%, while traffic on the country's roads went up by 2%.
Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: "Labour have missed the bus with these out-of-date proposals.
"We are already rolling out national smart card plans across ScotRail, introducing systems so the same cards can be used on ScotRail and the Glasgow subway and working with our...

Summary: Labour has set out proposals to create a single "smart ticket" that would cover all transport services across Scotland.
###
Article: First Minister Nicola Sturgeon personally promised the expansion in response to a campaign by the MND patient Gordon Aikman.
Mr Aikman's story featured in a BBC documentary, which was broadcast on Monday.
The charity MND Scotland said it was "frustrated" by the lack of progress.
It's a year since Ms Sturgeon committed Â£2.5m to improve specialist nursing care.
This included cash for the NHS to replace charity funding for MND nurses and for their number to increase from six to 12.
Scotland's chief nursing officer gave health boards until the end of October to deliver. However, no new nurses were in post by then.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has since recruited. NHS Highland has advertised and, in other areas, the hours worked by existing nurses have been increased.
MND Scotland called for further action on the issue  in Grampian, Tayside, Lothian, Forth Valley and Fife
The charity's chief executive, Craig Stockton, told BBC Scotland: "There's a growing sense of frustration from our point of view in that at this current time we still have no more new nurses in place. Not a single one.
"What has happened is that existing nurses who were on part time contracts have had their hours increased.
"I don't know if it's dragging their heels but they're certainly taking their time to put these posts in place."
He added: "It was meant to have happened by the 31st of October. That was the deadline.
"We're asking questions just now about the money side of things. What we think has happened is it's been absorbed by the health boards."
The charity has written to Health Secretary Shona Robison.
In a statement, she said: ""The Scottish government recognises the vital role specialist nurses play in patient care.
"The funding for MND specialist nurses was allocated to relevant health boards in June 2015. It is then for individual health boards to plan and deliver services to meet the needs of their local community.
"The health boards involved are currently in the process of recruiting additional nurses, or increasing the hours...

Summary: Health officials have missed their deadline to double the number of nurses specialising in motor neurone disease (MND).
###
Article: Nick D'Aloisio told the BBC he was currently deciding between working full-time for the California-based company or going to university.
The 18-year-old has just released an iPad edition of Yahoo's News Digest, for which he acts as project manager.
He is also developing an Apple Watch version, among other projects.
"For the lightweight news consumption that we have, [News] Digest is absolutely suited for this device," he said.
"Because of the summarisation element to this app, it just inherently makes sense when you have a constrained screen.
"We've been thinking about designing the concept of taking Digest to wearables for a while now, and we're going to jump at the opportunity."
The app's icon briefly features during the Watch promotional video on Apple's site.
Mr D'Aloisio said his team had already begun work on the software before the launch event, but had been kept "in the dark" about how the device functioned.
He added that he also intended to bring the app to Android Wear smartwatches.
News Digest has already been downloaded to about 1.3 million iPhones and 623,000 Android handsets, according to analytics provider Xyo.
Yahoo would not confirm those numbers, but said that it believed:
Mr D'Aloisio was only 16 years old when he secured a $250,000 (Â£154,000) investment in his software from Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing.
He subsequently launched the app Summly as a standalone news-summarisation product, but it was only a few months before Yahoo acquired the technology and his services, in a deal reported to be worth Â£20m.
Since then he has headed up a team of about a dozen software engineers and designers to create and run News Digest, at the same time as sitting his A-level exams.
Yahoo's app delivers two daily briefings of eight to nine stories, which are assembled by algorithms using text, images and videos sourced from online providers including:
Once the user has clicked through all the material, a graphic tells them they are "done".
"It's been very intense because I'm accountable and in charge...

Summary:


A faulty gene could help explain some cases of unexplained male infertility, according to research.

Article: You might think that they would want to boast about it, but in this case it's secret and you're not meant to know.
Since 2011 the Secret Intelligence Service, otherwise known as MI6, has cut its carbon dioxide emissions and shifted from being in the worst category for energy efficiency to rating better than would be typical for its kind of building.
This is disclosed in the organisation's official Display Energy Certificate, which I reveal here. Until recently this document was publicly available on the internet, despite this being contrary to the relevant regulations, but it has now been removed.
The certificate states the address for the MI6 headquarters at Vauxhall Cross in central London. It gives "GCB" as the occupier of the building. This stands for Government Communications Bureau, which is sometimes used as a cover name for MI6.
The document shows that since 2011 the building's energy rating has improved from 166, a very low score which would put it in the least efficient grouping, to a much better 88. Carbon dioxide emissions have fallen by around 10%, but it doesn't use any renewable sources of energy.
This change has been achieved in a building which must doubtless contain complex arrays of sophisticated electronic equipment.
Public buildings are required to display energy performance certificates with details of their energy efficiency, in line with a European Union directive. Generally the certificates should also be published on the website of the non-domestic energy performance register, to maximise transparency and enable public scrutiny.
However some buildings are meant to be excluded from this public register. This includes those belonging to the security agencies (as well as prisons, and those used by the armed forces and the royal family).
The GCB/MI6 certificate was however available on the register until recently to anyone who searched for it using the building's postcode. After I discovered this, saved a copy and sought a comment from the service on its impressive improvements in...

Summary: Now here's a public service which seems to have a very good record of improving the energy efficiency of its headquarters over the past two years.
###
Article: Twelve of the 27 committee chairmen have already been elected unopposed.
But MPs standing for the remaining positions faced a secret ballot of colleagues on Wednesday, with the outcome to be announced on the floor of the Commons at 10:30 BST.
The roles have been divided up between the political parties based on the results of the general election.
Chairmen are elected using an "alternative vote" system, under which MPs rank their favourites in order of preference, with the first to get more than 50% of votes going through.
Some, like Public Accounts and Backbench Business, are reserved to the Opposition, but the rest are parcelled out in proportion to the parties' strength.
With the Conservatives now running a majority government, they take on the chairmanship of the Justice Committee, previously held by Lib Dem veteran Sir Alan Beith.
Meanwhile, the SNP - which is now the third largest party in the Commons - has been handed the Scottish Affairs and Energy and Climate Change.
Committee chairmen receive extra pay on top of their MP's salaries for doing the job.
Here is the list of the committee chairmen who have been re-elected unopposed:

Summary: Results of the elections for House of Commons select committee chairmen are to be announced shortly.
###
Article: Australian players linked arms as a sign of respect before Thursday's World Cup qualifying match at Adelaide Oval.
Saudi players took up field positions and some continued to stretch.
Football officials said they had been told in advance that the "tradition was not in keeping with Saudi culture". An Australian MP called it "disgraceful".
Football's world body Fifa says the Saudi team will not face sanctions. It said it had reviewed what had happened and judged that there were "no grounds to take disciplinary action".
Eight people were killed and 48 injured on Saturday when three men drove into pedestrians on London Bridge, before abandoning the vehicle and stabbing people in the surrounding area.
Two Australians, Kirsty Boden and Sara Zelenak, were among the eight victims of the terror attack.
Australian football officials said the Saudi team had agreed a minute's silence could be held.
But officials were "further advised by Saudi team officials that this tradition was not in keeping with Saudi culture and they would move to their side of the field and respect our custom whilst taking their own positions on the field", a statement from Football Federation Australia said.
During the silence, as the Australian team lined up, most Saudi players dispersed to take up their positions on the pitch. Number 7 Salman Al Faraj, appeared to stand still. Two other players are also pictured standing with their hands behind their back.
The Saudi Arabian Football Federation made an "unreserved" apology on Friday.
"The players did not intend any disrespect to the memories of the victims or to cause upset to their families, friends or any individual affected by the atrocity," it said in a statement.
"The Saudi Arabian Football Federation condemns all acts of terrorism and extremism and extends its sincerest condolences to the families of all the victims and to the government and people of the United Kingdom."
The observance of moments of silence has been for years a subject of religious disagreement between moderate Muslim...

Summary: Saudi football chiefs have apologised after their national team elected not to take part in a minute's silence for victims of the London Bridge attack.
###
Article: They say that fossilised traces of the 540-million-year-old creature are "exquisitely well preserved".
The microscopic sea animal is the earliest known step on the evolutionary path that led to fish and - eventually - to humans.
Details of the discovery from central China appear in Nature journal.
The research team says that Saccorhytus is the most primitive example of a category of animals called "deuterostomes" which are common ancestors of a broad range of species, including vertebrates (backboned animals).
Saccorhytus was about a millimetre in size, and is thought to have lived between grains of sand on the sea bed.
The researchers were unable to find any evidence that the animal had an anus, which suggests that it consumed food and excreted from the same orifice.
The study was carried out by an international team of researchers, from the UK, China and Germany. Among them was Prof Simon Conway Morris, from the University of Cambridge.
He told BBC News: "To the naked eye, the fossils we studied look like tiny black grains, but under the microscope the level of detail was jaw-dropping.
"We think that as an early deuterostome this may represent the primitive beginnings of a very diverse range of species, including ourselves. All deuterostomes had a common ancestor, and we think that is what we are looking at here."
Degan Shu, from Northwest University in Xi'An, Shaanxi Province, where the fossils were found, said: "Saccorhytus now gives us remarkable insights into the very first stages of the evolution of a group that led to the fish, and ultimately, to us."
Until now, the deuterostome groups discovered were from between 510 to 520 million years ago. These had already begun to diversify into not just the vertebrates, the group to which we and our ancestors belong and animals such as starfish and sea urchins.
Because they looked so different from one another, it was difficult for the scientists to determine what an earlier, common ancestor might have looked like.
The study suggests that its body was...

Summary: Researchers have discovered the earliest known ancestor of humans - along with a vast range of other species.
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Article: The Labour leader claimed the Conservatives would "dump" equal pay, annual leave and maternity pay rights.
And he did not think "too many people" had come to the UK from inside the EU.
David Cameron said they disagreed on "lots of things" but welcomed Mr Corbyn's backing for EU membership - as Leave campaigners said the Labour leader "does not really mean it".
Making his first major speech of the referendum campaign, Mr Corbyn stood by past criticisms of the EU but said Britain had to remain in to fight for social reform.
In quotes: Jeremy Corbyn on the EU and referendum
Reality Check: Is Labour overwhelmingly supporting EU?
Reality Check: How many Brits live in the rest of the EU?
EU for beginners: A guide
UK and the EU: Better off out or in?
Who's who: The Vote Leave team
Who's who: The Remain campaign
He set out an alternative, "socialist" vision for Britain in Europe to the one being promoted by Mr Cameron, who will need the support of Labour voters to win 23 June's referendum.
He called for an EU minimum wage to prevent "unscrupulous" employers from undercutting wages, and said: "Just imagine what the Tories would do to workers' rights here in Britain if we voted to leave the EU in June.
"They'd dump rights on equal pay, working time, annual leave, for agency workers, and on maternity pay as fast as they could get away with it. It would be a bonfire of rights that Labour governments secured within the EU.
"Not only that, it wouldn't be a Labour government negotiating a better settlement for working people with the EU. It would be a Tory government, quite possibly led by Boris Johnson and backed by Nigel Farage, that would negotiate the worst of all worlds: a free market free-for-all shorn of rights and protections."
Asked about concerns over high levels of immigration, he said: "There is nothing wrong with people migrating to work across the continent but there has to be a level playing field on pay and conditions.  What we have is unscrupulous employers doing that."
He said a Labour government would...

Summary: Jeremy Corbyn has warned there could be a "bonfire" of workers' rights if the UK votes to leave the EU in June.
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Article: Mutations of the NR5A1 gene were found in a small percentage of infertile men, reports the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Scientists from the Pasteur Institute in France and University College London said it could help doctors investigating men with the condition.
A UK expert said he hoped that further gene defects could be found.
In the majority of cases, doctors can find no cause for male infertility, despite it accounting for up to half of cases in which couples have difficulty conceiving.
Male infertility appears to be more common within certain families, and this leads scientists to believe that there may be a genetic root for some cases, but only a handful of gene mutations which might be responsible have actually been found.
The latest research looks at a gene already known to be involved in sexual development in both men and women - defects in NR5A1 have been linked to physical defects in the development of the testicles or ovaries.
Their findings suggest that, even where there is no physical evidence of a problem, defects in the gene may be hampering the ability to make sperm.
They looked at the gene in 315 apparently healthy men who had an unexplained inability to produce sperm.
From this group, they found mutations in the gene in just seven, and closer examination revealed the men had altered levels of sex hormones and, in one case, mild abnormalities in the cellular structure of the testicles.
The research authors, from the UCL Institute of Child Health in London and the Institut Pasteur in Paris, said: "We conclude that approximately 4% of men with otherwise unexplained failure to produce sperm carry mutations in the NR5A1 gene."
Although the find would affect only a small proportion of infertile men, other specialists believe that other similar discoveries could help build up a clearer picture of the origins of the condition.
Dr Allan Pacey, a senior lecturer in andrology at the University of Sheffield, said that there was still "embarrassingly little" known about the genetics behind male...

Summary:


Hewlett-Packard says it will cut another 25,000-30,000 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, as it plans to split the company in two.

Article: The £200m scheme will give Northern Ireland greater access to generating capacity in the Republic.
Approval was granted in December 2016 but was challenged by the North East Pylon Pressure Campaign.
The judge said there was "no lawful reason" to overturn the planning permission.
The Utility Regulator has said the scheme is needed to ensure security of supply, particularly as some older power stations in Northern Ireland are due to be decommissioned.
The scheme will involve connecting the two power grids via 138km of overhead lines between Moy in County Tyrone and County Meath.
The Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) held a public inquiry into the northern element of the the project in February.
The PAC is due to make a recommendation later this year.
The Northern Ireland section is being overseen by System Operator for Northern Ireland (SONI).
Robin McCormick of SONI welcomed the court decision and said the inter-connector was needed to address security of supply problems facing Northern Ireland.
"This decision is encouraging and means our colleagues in EirGrid can now engage with landowners in the project area in the south," he said.
Angela McGowan, CBI Northern Ireland Regional director, said it was a welcome development but stressed that "urgent clarity" on the northern section of the project was needed.
"We would encourage the Planning Appeals Commission and the Department for Infrastructure to reach a positive decision on the planning application as soon as possible," she said.

Summary: The High Court in Dublin has upheld planning approval for the southern element of the north-south electricity interconnector.
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Article: The barrister said draft reforms to the UK's EU membership might "do the job politically" but would do little to curb the "muscle-flexing" of EU Courts.
Without action, a "new generation of EU rights would bed down", she argued
Mr Johnson is under pressure to say whether he will back EU exit or not.
The Mayor of London and Conservative MP has said he will wait until the final text of the proposed changes to the UK's membership, brokered by European Council president Donald Tusk, is agreed before deciding which way to campaign in a future referendum.
He has said David Cameron is making the "best of a bad job" in his negotiations and pressed the prime minister to set out how any agreement will re-assert the UK's national sovereignty and guarantee the primacy of Parliament and British courts, amid speculation a law could be passed to put this beyond doubt.
In an article for a human rights blog, Ms Wheeler - who recently became a QC - said the draft package of reforms negotiated by Mr Cameron, including enhanced powers for national Parliaments to group together to block EU legislation, "raised more questions than they answered".
"The reach of the Court of Justice of the European Union has extended to the point where the status quo is untenable," she wrote.
"Aside from eroding national sovereignty, which it does, the current situation also undermines legal certainty, which in turn undermines good governance. To limit the still-growing reach of EU law, it is not enough to use "red cards" to stem the flow of EU legislation.
"Reform is needed to address the EU legal order, in particular the jurisdictional muscle-flexing of the Court in Luxembourg. The Tusk proposals do not do this. In fact they duck the issue entirely, leaving the way clear for a whole new generation of EU right to bed down."
A string of recent legal rulings, she argued, demonstrated that the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which was given legal force by the 2007 EU Lisbon Treaty was being used to "fashion new rights" rather than merely reaffirm those...

Summary: Marina Wheeler, who is married to Boris Johnson, has entered the debate about the UK's future in the EU, urging the government to assert its opposition to the "growing reach" of EU laws.
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Article: A report into HMP Moorland said almost half of all prisoners claimed it was easy to get drugs compared to 28% at the last inspection.
Inspectors said the availability of new psychoactive substances (NPS) was undermining recent progress.
Prison bosses said more work needed to be done to tackle the problem.
The report follows an unannounced inspection of the prison, near Hatfield Woodhouse, in February.
It found the number of violent incidents, fights and assaults had increased since the last inspection in 2012 and levels were also higher than at similar prisons.
More on this and other local stories in South Yorkshire
Peter Clarke, Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: "There are real opportunities at Moorland to make progress, but the issues of NPS... have such a negative impact on prisoners' experiences.
"In particular, there is a real opportunity to make progress in embracing the prison's new role as a resettlement prison, and in delivering treatment programmes for sex offenders."
Responding to the report, Michael Spurr, Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service, said: I am pleased that the inspector has highlighted the real progress being made at Moorland in purposeful activity as well as successfully introducing and managing sex offenders."
He said: "We are not complacent about safety and there is clearly more work to do to address levels of violence and tackle increasing availability of NPS at the prison."
A spokesperson for the Howard League for Penal Reform said: "The report uncovers a number of problems, not least the reality that one-in-three prisoners has nothing to do during the working day.
"People turn to drugs when faced with idleness and despair."

Summary: Inspectors are warning the availability of so-called legal highs at a South Yorkshire prison is "severely threatening" the stability of the jail.
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Article: So far we've only had theories and mock designs, rather than any actual evidence something was happening.
But now we have something firm: The Guardian newspaper has got hold of correspondence between Apple engineer Frank Fearon and officials from a car testing facility GoMentum Station.
"We would ... like to get an understanding of timing and availability for the space, and how we would need to coordinate around other parties who would be using [it]," the newspaper quotes Fearon as writing. The note was sent in May.
GoMentum Station is in Concord, a city a good 30 minutes' drive north east from San Francisco.
It's a facility specifically set up to test driverless car technology. There's 20 miles or so of road which recreates some real-world scenarios. This video from Honda gives you a good insight into the place.
So what does it tell us about Apple's car ambitions?
Not much - but it does at least offer, for the first time, some concrete evidence that plans are in motion.
Until now, we'd only known that Apple had hired a couple of car industry experts into its ranks, apparently working on something called "Project Titan" - although this has never been confirmed by Apple.
So the letters from Fearon - himself an autonomous vehicle expert - to GoMentum Station at least lends some credibility to the rumours.
"We are hoping to see a presentation on the ... testing grounds with a layout, photos, and a description of how the various areas of the grounds could be used," the letter reads.
GoMentum are, naturally, under a strict non-disclosure agreement about the project, but they did confirm to the Guardian that Apple are "interested".
And why wouldn't they be? Apple's vice-president Jeff Williams said earlier in the year that the car is the "ultimate mobile device" - a space you'd assume Apple would be desperate to be in.
The question is the extent of what they are building. Are they, as some have said, intending on creating an entire Apple-made car?
Or are they perhaps content with providing sophisticated software...

Summary: The persistent rumours about Apple building some kind of car have felt at times like they were powered purely by Apple fans desperate for something new and exciting,
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Article: The team at Kyoto University has found the clock's 'reset button' inside the brain.
Their study, published in the journal Science, showed the button could be used to switch the clock to a new time zone in a single day.
Experts said the team was "close to the money" in the hunt for a jet lag cure.
There are clocks throughout the body and a "master clock" in the brain, keeping the body in sync with the world around it to make people sleepy at night.
Anyone who has ever done shift work or a long-haul flight has experienced the disrupted sleep and hunger patterns of a body clock which is out of tune with the rising and setting of the sun.
The clock uses light to help keep track of time, but it is naturally stubborn and adjusts slowly.
The rough rule is that for every time zone crossed it takes a full day for the body to catch up. Fly from London to Beijing and it would take a week for the body clock to fully adapt.
The team in Japan have come up with a way to get the master clock to be a bit more flexible.
It is a group of 10,000 brain cells - about the same size as a grain of rice - which constantly talk to each other to keep a strict control over the time.
The scientists found that interfering with the vasopressin receptors, essentially a brain cell's ears that allow it to keep in touch with its neighbours, let the clock shift rapidly.
Genetically modified mice which had no vasopressin receptors were able to adjust to the clocks being put back eight hours within a single day, while normal mice took six days.
When the clocks were put forward eight hours then it took normal mice eight days to adapt, but those without vasopressin receptors adjusted in two.
Similar results were then achieved in normal mice using a drug.
The study's authors concluded: "Studies have shown that chronic jet lag and rotating shift work can increase an individual's risk of developing hypertension, obesity, and other metabolic disorders.
Sources: Mental Health Foundation and BBC Science
Discover what disturbs your sleep the most
"Our...

Summary: Drugs that rapidly tweak the body clock in order to avoid jet lag and the pains of shift work have moved a step closer after research in Japan.
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Article: It follows 55,000 job cuts announced earlier this year.
The losses will come in Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), which is splitting from the printer and PC business.
The company says the cuts will save $2.7bn (Â£1.76bn) in annual costs, although the plan will cost $2.7bn to carry out.
At a meeting for Wall Street analysts, chairman and chief executive Meg Whitman said: "We've done a significant amount of work over the past few years to take costs out and simplify processes and these final actions will eliminate the need for any future corporate restructuring."
The new structure proposed by Ms Whitman sees HP Enterprise focusing primarily on businesses and government agencies, and the PC and printing divisions on the consumer market.
The company currently has more than 300,000 employees.
"The number is sadly larger than some people might have expected, but I think it's a reflection of how much trouble HP has been having with its services," said Charles King, analyst at the Silicon Valley IT consulting firm Pund-IT.
"I'm frankly not sure if HP is finished with the layoffs."
The company will not say where the cuts will fall, but part of the plan involves changing the nature of the workforce.
The proportion of workers in what HPE calls "low-cost locations" is expected to rise from around 42% now to 60% by 2018.
The tech company has struggled over the last decade to keep up with changing demands as customers move away from desktop computers.
However, Hewlett-Packard is still one of the world's largest technology companies, with revenues this year expected to top $50bn.
The company famously started life in a Palo Alto garage in California in 1939 and grew to be the guiding light of what became known as Silicon Valley.
Its fortunes started to decline with a series of expensive and much criticised acquisitions including Compaq for $25bn in 2002, consultants EDS for $14bn in 2008 and Autonomy for $11bn in 2011.
In 2012 it lost its position as the world's leading supplier of PCs to Lenovo.
The share price peaked at...

Summary: